Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara (JFK): Sierra Leone Telegraph: 18 May 2020:
It is with deep sadness that we received news of the death of our Comrade and Colleague, Dr. Minkailu Bah, former Minister of Education, Science and Technology. The clutches of death have once again wrenched away a close friend.
We met in our youthful days, 1980, when he was a student at Magburaka Boys School and I, at the Albert Academy. It was a bond naturally inspired unto today.
We later got close at Fourah Bay College (FBC), where he was studying Engineering. Minks, as we fondly called him, was studious, focused and determined.
While some of us partied hard, he was always hard at work and scorned us for wasting our parent’s investments. We mocked him in return for not having a girlfriend and a social life.
We all graduated in any case, and to no one’s surprise, he obtained a First-Class Degree with Honours.
Our paths crossed again, while I was Anti-Corruption Commissioner, and he was then Minister of Education, Science and Technology. It was at that time that I became privy, to the inner drive, strive for integrity, and his undaunting passion to do what he believes is right. And, that could also have been his undoing to many his adversaries. (Photo above: Dr Minkailu Bah).
He will be remembered for his fight against Ghost Teachers! He refused to make politics affect his quest to reduce the Wage Bill and maintenance of professional standards in the educational sector.
As a colleague Minister, he was always smiling as if up to some mischief. He seldom spoke, and when he did, it is with knowledge of subject matter, supported with facts and figures. I used to call him the “evidence man”. He had a dossier for every project and venture.
Minks, the politician, depends on who you’re talking to. To me, he was astute, determined and a die-hard loyalist to the cause of the All People’s Congress Party (APC).
Yes, mistakes he may have made, but so are we all, no man is perfect. His passion was to improve education, the well-being of his people and uphold the true ideals of the APC.
To you our fallen Comrade, we wish you Bon Voyage. You played your part well, but the job remains unfinished. It was not meant for you to reach the finish line, but for others to continue running with the aspirations of making Sierra Leone the country that we love.
Rest-in Peace, Good-Bye, Good-Bye, until we meet again.
About he author
Joseph Fitzgerald Kamara (JFK) is former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Sierra Leone, under the Koroma-led APC government and also, the former head of rhe country’s Anti-Corruption Commission. He is a Barrister and one of Sierra Leone’s legal luminaries.
Like I wrote on “Atomic Pen’s” Time line, “one man’s meat is another man’s poison” Doctor Bah protected the ideals of his party to the detriment of others. While he did that, some citizens deprived of their rights especially our teachers